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Morrow, Modano lift Stars over Kings

Oct 13, 2006 - 5:14 AM LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Brenden Morrow and Mike Modano continue to serve as two of the big reasons the Dallas Stars are off to a good start.

Morrow and Modano each had a goal and an assist to lead the Stars to a 4-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings.

After Morrow and Eric Lindros set up Modano's goal at 14:22 of the first period to give the Stars a 2-0 lead, Morrow beat goaltender Dan Cloutier 1:55 into the second period for a three-goal advantage.

Morrow has two goals and four points in the last two games for the Stars, who remained undefeated after three contests.

Lindros added three assists for the Stars, who scored their first power-play goal of the season but remain only 1-for-13 on the man advantage.

The Modano-Morrow-Lindros line combined for two goals and five assists and were a collective plus-6.

"I think it is a good, typical road line. ... They cause a lot of confusion with their size and speed," Modano said.

Rookie defenseman Raitis Ivanans scored the only goal for Los Angeles, which went 0-for-8 on the power play.

"We got behind early," Kings center Craig Conroy said. "Luckily we get a chance to get back at these guys on Saturday. We have to find a way to respond and we have to find a way to score. We have to work harder. We have to do those things and we have to win those 1-on-1 battles."

Dallas goaltender Marty Turco stopped 32 shots, while Cloutier made 25 saves.

"(Turco's) been excellent," Dallas coach Dave Tippett said. "He made a couple of tough saves when he had to and our team has played pretty well in front of him. Again, he is a guy that is just doing his job. I like the way our team is competing, and that goes right from Marty out."

Lindros, pleased with his team's effort, knows the win will have no bearing on Saturday's rematch.

"Everything seems to be falling into place. ... It was a good night tonight," he said. "We've just got to be sure we're ready for Saturday."

While Lindros was pleased with the proceedings, Los Angeles coach Marc Crawford was unhappy with his club's effort, especially against a Pacific Division rival.

"We have to climb the mountain and knock the guy on the top of the mountain off of it," Crawford said. "Tonight we just got sand kicked in our face. We did not have the type of passion that we need to play with.

"We have to play better than that. If it is any consolation, the whole group did not play well. You have to count me in as part of that. The team was not ready to play at the start of the game and that is my fault."